Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous films, including action thrillers and dramatic features. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high-profile roles. Snipes formed a production company, Amen-Ra Films, in 1991 and a subsidiary, Black Dot Media, to develop projects for film and television. Snipes has been training in martial arts since age 12, earning a 5th dan black belt in Shotokan Karate and 2nd dan black belt in Hapkido.[1]
In 2010, Snipes began serving a three-year prison sentence in McKean County, Pennsylvania for misdemeanor failure to file U.S. federal income tax returns.[2] He was released from prison in 2013.[3]Snipes was born in Orlando, Florida on July 31, 1962, the son of Marian, a teacher's assistant, and Wesley R. Snipes, an aircraft engineer.[4] He grew up in The Bronx, New York City. He attended P.S. 132, an elementary school in The Bronx. Snipes graduated from I.S. 131, a middle school in The Bronx, and also attended the famed Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing, but moved back to Florida before he could graduate. After graduating from Jones High School in Orlando, Snipes returned to New York and attended the State University of New York at Purchase. Snipes also attended Southwest College in Los Angeles.
Snipes signing autographs at Comic Con International in 2010.
At the age of 23, Snipes was discovered by an agent while performing in a competition. He made his film debut in the 1986 Goldie Hawn vehicle Wildcats. Later that year, he appeared on the TV show Miami Vice as a drug-dealing pimp in the episode "Streetwise" (first aired December 5, 1986). In 1987, he appeared as Michael Jackson's nemesis in